RaiderIVlife
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2005
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It's hard to locate the silver lining when it's covered in grime, but alas, it must be done. Besides, who want's to read the continuous, albiet understandable, litany of complaints from fellow Raider Fans?
In the Big Picture, we are a very young team under development and many of our high priced aged veterans (Sapp, Crockett, Sims, Porter and Moss) will probably not be in Oakland next season so much of that money could/should go towards a more aggressive approach to FA in 2007.
But for now, I'll focus on the Immediate Picture and the positives I draw from this point are as follows:
1.) Offensive Line - As much as I and everyone else has harped on this unit this season, they have in fact improved each game. The game yesterday saw a unit that was actually worthy of an NFL paycheck. Not All-Pro, but competent and it was equally effective in Pass & Run blocking IMHO. Robert Gallery had by far his best game at LT, Jake Grove appears to be (belatedly) hitting his stride at Center as the communication within the line is clearly better, Kevin Boothe has nice size & strength and appears to be a real find. Langston Walker continues to struggle, but in all fairness I must point out that we seemed to run pretty well to the right side yesterday. Beyond that, young Paul McUgly is now pushing Walker for PT at RT. As I said, Not all pro, but the improvement is evident IMHO.
2.) Defensive Secondary - Granted, Michael Huff as yet has made no appreciable impact, but geez, it's only his 4th proffesional game. I'm not worried about Huff aside from his tendency to tackle high. On the other hand Nmandi Asomugah, Fabian Washington and even Stanford Routt are really solid, young, athletic and steadily improving at CB. Our drafting strategy in this area appears to be justified to this point. There is a reason that our opponents would rather run the ball than pass the ball and a big part of that reason is our secondary. Stuart Schweigert is OK, but might be better off as an experienced b/u safety in 2007 if the Raiders sign or draft a legit SS and move Huff to FS. Either way, this unit has tons of potential for years to come.
3.) Kirk Morrison - MLB - Mr. Raider that plays with intelligence and controlled aggression. He is already better than the since departed Danny Clark and figures to be a fixture on defense each & every week for years to come.
4.) Ronald Curry - WR & Sam Williams - OLB. Two very talented players that have been snake bitten by big injuries. I hesitate to even type this portion of my post, but oh well, they deserve to be mentioned. Ronald Curry is currently our best WR. Yes, I'm saying that with a straight face. He's our best WR, even though he isn't starting, even though the team is clearly limiting his reps and even though someone named Randy Moss is on our roster. Curry gets open and catches the football. Curry is effective in all three areas of the field (short - intermediate - deep) and most importantly, Curry plays his ass off. Health permitting, he will be the official starter before too long and but for the injury concerns, the Raiders would be far less reticent IMO to offload Porter & Moss.
Sam Williams has had his growing pains at OLB this year and even missed one game due to injury (unrelated to previous injuries BTW) but he has an excellent size/speed combination, plays hard and oh BTW, scored the Raiders first TD in 2006 - on defense no less. As is the case with Curry, if healthy, Williams will be a productive player each & every week and beyond.
5.) Sebastian Janokowski - K - Another player that I have criticized tremendously over the years, but he has entered 2006 in the best shape of his NFL life, is consistently hitting the kickoffs deep (save for the Cleveland game) and is 4/4 in FG attempts. I am now more confident in letting Seabass kick FG's than I am in this offensive unit converting first downs. Shit, the dude even made a TD saving tackle a couple of weeks ago.
6.) Andrew Walter - QB - I have never been a big supporter of Walter. I argued all offseason that Aaron Brooks should be the Raider starter, however, despite a QB rating that resembles a therometer in Siberia, I'm now looking forward to watching him develop. He moves much better in the pocket than expected and although is technically slower than Brooks, he plays faster. He has decent accuracy, but beyond that - and most importantly - he has the look, feel and demeanor of a "Leader". He takes responsibility for poor play, he stands TALL in the pocket, appears to be fearless and does NOT have happy feet. As the offensive line continues to improve, so will Walter. This guy should start the balance of our games in 2006 in preparation for 2007.
In the Big Picture, we are a very young team under development and many of our high priced aged veterans (Sapp, Crockett, Sims, Porter and Moss) will probably not be in Oakland next season so much of that money could/should go towards a more aggressive approach to FA in 2007.
But for now, I'll focus on the Immediate Picture and the positives I draw from this point are as follows:
1.) Offensive Line - As much as I and everyone else has harped on this unit this season, they have in fact improved each game. The game yesterday saw a unit that was actually worthy of an NFL paycheck. Not All-Pro, but competent and it was equally effective in Pass & Run blocking IMHO. Robert Gallery had by far his best game at LT, Jake Grove appears to be (belatedly) hitting his stride at Center as the communication within the line is clearly better, Kevin Boothe has nice size & strength and appears to be a real find. Langston Walker continues to struggle, but in all fairness I must point out that we seemed to run pretty well to the right side yesterday. Beyond that, young Paul McUgly is now pushing Walker for PT at RT. As I said, Not all pro, but the improvement is evident IMHO.
2.) Defensive Secondary - Granted, Michael Huff as yet has made no appreciable impact, but geez, it's only his 4th proffesional game. I'm not worried about Huff aside from his tendency to tackle high. On the other hand Nmandi Asomugah, Fabian Washington and even Stanford Routt are really solid, young, athletic and steadily improving at CB. Our drafting strategy in this area appears to be justified to this point. There is a reason that our opponents would rather run the ball than pass the ball and a big part of that reason is our secondary. Stuart Schweigert is OK, but might be better off as an experienced b/u safety in 2007 if the Raiders sign or draft a legit SS and move Huff to FS. Either way, this unit has tons of potential for years to come.
3.) Kirk Morrison - MLB - Mr. Raider that plays with intelligence and controlled aggression. He is already better than the since departed Danny Clark and figures to be a fixture on defense each & every week for years to come.
4.) Ronald Curry - WR & Sam Williams - OLB. Two very talented players that have been snake bitten by big injuries. I hesitate to even type this portion of my post, but oh well, they deserve to be mentioned. Ronald Curry is currently our best WR. Yes, I'm saying that with a straight face. He's our best WR, even though he isn't starting, even though the team is clearly limiting his reps and even though someone named Randy Moss is on our roster. Curry gets open and catches the football. Curry is effective in all three areas of the field (short - intermediate - deep) and most importantly, Curry plays his ass off. Health permitting, he will be the official starter before too long and but for the injury concerns, the Raiders would be far less reticent IMO to offload Porter & Moss.
Sam Williams has had his growing pains at OLB this year and even missed one game due to injury (unrelated to previous injuries BTW) but he has an excellent size/speed combination, plays hard and oh BTW, scored the Raiders first TD in 2006 - on defense no less. As is the case with Curry, if healthy, Williams will be a productive player each & every week and beyond.
5.) Sebastian Janokowski - K - Another player that I have criticized tremendously over the years, but he has entered 2006 in the best shape of his NFL life, is consistently hitting the kickoffs deep (save for the Cleveland game) and is 4/4 in FG attempts. I am now more confident in letting Seabass kick FG's than I am in this offensive unit converting first downs. Shit, the dude even made a TD saving tackle a couple of weeks ago.
6.) Andrew Walter - QB - I have never been a big supporter of Walter. I argued all offseason that Aaron Brooks should be the Raider starter, however, despite a QB rating that resembles a therometer in Siberia, I'm now looking forward to watching him develop. He moves much better in the pocket than expected and although is technically slower than Brooks, he plays faster. He has decent accuracy, but beyond that - and most importantly - he has the look, feel and demeanor of a "Leader". He takes responsibility for poor play, he stands TALL in the pocket, appears to be fearless and does NOT have happy feet. As the offensive line continues to improve, so will Walter. This guy should start the balance of our games in 2006 in preparation for 2007.
